3. Summary—The Challenges, Types of Tests & Possible Experiences

The Three Big Core Challenges—Identity—Connection—Competency

The three challenges are (1) to form an identity as a young adult; (2) to form connections to peers, adults, organizations, and community; (3) to develop the set of competencies that will bring success as a young adult.

These are the three big challenges or quests that you and your peers face as teenagers. These challenges start when we are teenagers and are usually most intense as a teenager. However, these three challenges will be with us for our entire lives in one form or another. How these three big challenges play out will look different for everyone, but the basic nature of the challenges is the same.

Three Types of Tests—Letting Go—Discovery and Mastery—“Inbetweenity.”

To meet those three challenges you will be tested in three common ways. You will need to let go of the old ways of childhood, you will need to discover and master the ways of a young adult and you will need to deal with the weirdness of spending a lot of time in-between the letting go of the old and the mastery of the new—sometimes called “inbetweenity.” There is more on these three ways of being tested in the section “This is Your Story.”

Three Ways to Experience the Journey—Survive—Do OK - Thrive

You can also experience this journey as surviving, doing OK or thriving. For most people there will be times when it just feels like you’re trying to survive. Other times you may feel like you’re doing OK, but not thriving. Sometimes you might feel like you are thriving. The teenage experience takes a long time and can be an intellectual and emotional roller coaster, so you may find yourself moving from one experience to another. Regardless of which experience you are having, the heroic journey is still the guide.